In Week Eight of the Westfield W-League, four Portland Thorns FC players saw action with their respective Australian club sides. On Saturday, Hayley Raso, Celeste Boureille and Brisbane Roar FC took sole possession of first place with their 2-0 win over Melbourne City FC—their fifth victory of the season.
Raso and Boureille each started for the Roar, playing the full 90 and putting in excellent performances for their team. Boureille completed 65 passes through the midfield with 83.1% accuracy, taking two shots on goal during the match. Raso laid off 43 passes, created one chance and also got a shot off during the game.
A surging Sydney FC squad also earned three points this past week, as Emily Sonnett and her side defeated Ashleigh Sykes’ Canberra United 3-0 for their fourth-straight win. While Sykes did not appear in the game, Sonnett started and played through the final whistle, connecting for 27 passes at a 74.1% accuracy rate, creating a chance along the way. The 24-year-old defender nearly scored her second goal of the season in the 52nd minute of the match, taking advantage of a poorly cleared free-kick, however the strike was called offside and disallowed. With the win, the Sky Blues have catapulted to fourth in the W-League Standings after sitting in last place just three weeks ago.
Lastly, the Newcastle Jets faced off against 4-2-0 Perth Glory and played to a 3-3 draw through regulation. Britt Eckerstrom started the game in goal and would have been on the hook for the loss had Samantha Kerr’s hat trick performance not been ruined by Sarah Carroll’s 90+4’ own goal. Instead, Eckerstrom escapes with the draw as each team moves to 4-2-1 on the season.
